Activision forces LA Thieves to take down Call of Duty League card opening video

The Los Angeles Thieves posted a lighthearted YouTube video on May 27 where their players opened custom-made Call of Duty League trading card packs. Just 24 hours later, all traces of the content have now been removed.

No different from most other CDL teams, the LA Thieves are constantly pushing out original content on their social platforms. From reaction videos to power rankings and regular behind-the-scenes interviews, there’s at least one new piece of content on YouTube every week.

For the latest upload, the popular franchise gathered its players to open CDL trading card packs in a similar vein to Pokemon Box Breaks. These cards were made for the video by prominent community designer ‘vLionMan’ of BreakingPoint.

A mere 24 hours after the video went live, it has since been taken down. All traces of the content across social media have also been removed.

“The vid got taken down, very cool,” the designer shared on Twitter a day after announcing his collaboration with the LA Thieves.

The content was originally set to unlisted on YouTube but has since been erased altogether. On top of that, official LA Thieves social accounts have removed all traces of promotional material for the video.

As to why it was all taken down, initial speculation pointed towards Activision’s partnership with Upper Deck. The trading card company previously released packs for the Overwatch League and recent leaks suggested official Call of Duty League packs weren’t far off either.

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“Maybe something to do with the Upper Deck thing,” a fan said in response. “Yep,” vLionMan confirmed. “Takes my content and then silences mine. Bold.”

It’s evident a lot of effort went into this week’s LA Thieves video. For the time being, there’s no telling if the work will ever see the light of day again. Due to Activision’s partnership with Upper Deck, any similar creations may be seen as direct competition. The CDL is yet to officially announce the existence of any upcoming trading cards, however.

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Dexerto has reached out to both Activision and LA Thieves for further comments.